Cellit client Pizza Shuttle is named as the Independent Pizza Restaurant of the Year in the August 2009 issue of Pizza Today. This highly successful chain cites their expansion into mobile marketing as critical to their ongoing success. The article begins on page 54.
Having created successful mobile campaigns, and become believers in the power of mobile marketing – many of our clients have been starting to think outside of the SMS box. As they begin exploring the wide open frontier that is WAP sites and Mobile Applications, they have looked to Cellit for guidance and advice. More often than not – I get the question: what’s the difference? And do I need both?
I recently wrote a post with some thoughtful advice on whether a business needs a mobile application. Once an owner has determined if stepping beyond SMS is the right next step, there are many options and they can quickly become expensive. Let’s start by defining the two main options: applications and a WAP site.
Created for smart phones, mobile applications are downloadable programs that run on your phone. Smart phones include the Apple iPhone, the Google Android Phone, the Palm models (including the new PRE), Blackberry models and all Windows phones. The applications offer the ability to provide a slightly more customized experience, in addition to added features and functionality. And because they are designed for a specific platform (ie – an iPhone), can be built in such a way as to maximize the unique features of that platform – including compass, camera, and motion sensors.
WAP sites are html websites that have been optimized for viewing on a phone. Unlike traditional websites, the user is often restricted by a limited screen size and ability to navigate. As such, they tend to be very streamlined and simplified, with only a subset of the data and options available on the traditional .com website.
Both options accomplish much of the same thing; however, there are some notable differences. I have mentioned the mobile applications ability to have additional features and functionality, in addition to the fact that you can design the application specifically for the platform, taking advantage of the phone features.
Most importantly, access is the main differentiator. Smart phones represent about 40% of the US market. While this is growing at a substantial rate, it is still less than half of the population. Within that percentage, each individual Smart phone category represents some subset of the population. For example, if an iPhone application is created – with no other applications – it will have the potential to reach only 2-3% of the entire population. Thus, to aggressively pursue a mobile application strategy – a company will need to either plan to develop applications across all the major platforms (Android, Apple, Windows, Blackberry and Palm OS) or specifically analyze their target market and the particular phone type they are most prone to use. For example, a business-to-business company may target the Blackberry for application development, as it is popular amongst business users – while a company targeting early adopters and a younger demographic may develop an iPhone application.
There has been some discussion about the growing popularity of the iPhone application store. To be more specific, does an application developed on another platform (say, Blackberry for discussion purposes) provide a better ROI because there is a larger chance that it will be found by casual browsers than for an iPhone application, which will be lost in the thousands of applications currently available. While there is some truth to this, much of the success of an application will rest on the ability of the organization to promote it through other advertising and communication mediums to their target audience.
In contrast to applications, the WAP site is available on more phones, both smart and traditional mobile handsets. While some subscribers may not subscribe to a data plan, two-thirds of all users have access to the web, and most new phone models offer some type of mobile browser. WAP sites, when done correctly, resize all graphics to display best on the screen size of the phone – thus ensuring the best possible experience for each individual user. It is a least common denominator, ensuring access across platforms, mobile company providers and phone models.
One strategy that I found particularly compelling that blends the best of both worlds comes from CNN (who is not a client). They have created a downloadable icon, which is available in the various stores (in my case, Blackberry). This icon simply links me directly to the CNN.mobi WAP site. It offers the convenience of an on-screen icon for smart phone users, ensuring top of mind awareness, but also takes advantage of an existing WAP site. In my mind, this is an example of getting the best of both worlds – and maximizing development dollars.
It’s our belief that starting off and reaching the broadest audience provides the best ROI in this marketing climate. As such, companies will want to start with text, then to WAP sites, and finally onto the application development front through targeted platform development. Applications provide great benefits and exposure when developed on the right platform for the right target audience.
There are generally three ingredients to building a successful mobile database for a small business. We call them the three c’s: cadence, content and commitment. In the next few blog posts, we’ll examine each as it relates to building a successful mobile campaign.
Third up:
Commitment:
Lastly, as with anything done well, a successful mobile club requires commitment. Too often individuals expect a service like mobile marketing to perform miracles all on its own. Mobile, used in a box by itself, will do nothing to enhance a brand or sell more products. It will fall flat, producing results that are below expectations and will waste precious marketing dollars. Because it is a permission based service, customers should be made aware of its existence and given reason to participate.
Mobile works best when combined with existing marketing efforts, promoted in store, and integrated into other marketing activities. In short, it requires changing mind sets to think through how mobile can be used to augment and enhance the activity a business is already engaged in. It requires content of value, and a dedication to consistently sending out messages according to the cadence expectation previously set.
As such, half-hearted mobile efforts will yield half-hearted results. However, well thought out and executed programs will drive participation and results rapidly. Take the example of IKEA Tampa, a newly opened store. During their launch campaign, they included a call to action for mobile on all of their transit and other print communications. Their content centered around a scavenger hunt through the current catalog, and offered gift cards as prizes. For their launch period, they signed up 1,000 people into the mobile club on a daily basis. Once an initial base of awareness was built using traditional media, IKEA Tampa used the viral power of SMS to increase momentum.
In conclusion
We’ve now looked at how Cadence, Content and Commitment all affect the success of a mobile club or database. The mobile database that a business builds is different than traditional marketing activities. The business owns the relationship with the consumer, rather than renting it (as in the case with television, radio, broadcast or other forms of traditional media). As such, overall and long-term marketing costs for mobile will be far less than traditional media outlets and yield higher ROI’s. The initial effort that is expended in advertising the mobile club to drive membership will yield substantial results as you continue to market to this captive audience with very little incremental expense.
By defining a strategy that addresses the three c’s – a small business will ensure that a small investment in mobile marketing will return a significant and positive ROI.
There are generally three ingredients to building a successful mobile database for a small business. We call them the three c’s: cadence, content and commitment. In the next few blog posts, we’ll examine each as it relates to building a successful mobile campaign. Second up:
Content
Overall subscription levels will depend highly on the value of the content offered to members. Successful content is compelling, timely and exclusive. Let’s look at each independently:
Compelling: Your audience is loyal and to some extent, tech savvy. They’ve given you permission to communicate with them in a very personal and meaningful way – through a device that is with them all the time. As such, they expect to receive content that mirrors the permissions that have been granted. It should have value – and good examples of that value can include: previews or pre-sales, first notice announcements, buy-one-get-one free, discounts, or special deals. Notice how successful a VIP pre-sale is at a large department store (an example of early access) or the way the Obama Presidential Campaign drove mobile club participation through the VP announcement text message. Both are examples of how compelling and value do not have to equate to discounts and free products.
Timely: Create a sense of urgency through your text campaigns by making them timely, not only in their relevance to the seasonality of the store or events in the world – but also in their expiration. The best mobile campaigns are reflective of the tone of the community -whether that be sensitive to price during down economies, reflective of a nationalistic pride during war times, or charitable during the holidays. Be sure to localize your message to reflect what is topical for your customers.
Secondarily, incenting customers with limited time offers provides several benefits. In addition to creating a sense of urgency with an expiration date, it also limits exposure. While some SMS programs offer ways to track redemption, many businesses aren’t necessarily looking for a one-to-one user to redemption rate. For example, a pizza chain in Milwaukee, Wisconsin encourages mobile club members to forward offers on to friends, and has calculated that the store gets about 2 pass-alongs for each message sent. For that particular store, driving gross traffic volume is more important than understanding who exactly is responding to an offer. Because of this feature, and the ability for the offer to be replicated and forwarded virally, each offer has an expiration date.
Exclusive: While the other two items are important to creating successful content, the critical component is exclusivity. By offering it only through mobile, you ensure that whatever the content is has inherent value. An entire case study could be written about the use of mobile during President Barack Obama’s candidacy, however – he clearly understood the enticement of exclusivity. The prospect of being the first to know about Obama’s Vice Presidential choice enticed nearly one million individuals to opt into his mobile database. It was exactly that exclusivity that drove him to send out a message in the wee hours of the morning (some supporters received it at 3 or 4am) to make good on this promise and beat any of the news networks from ‘breaking’ the news. Exclusivity will not only drive participation, but also increase satisfaction and retention.
Some additional best practices that you’ll want to be aware of: